Wicked: For Good

 

“Because I knew you, I have been changed for the better.”

Heavier, mature but still magical, Wicked: For Good is an emotionally darker and more challenging film that balances adapting, expanding and evolving the messier Act Two of the stage musical and ultimately delivers a faithful (flaws included) cinematic experience whose heart is good but performances even better. 

Discussion Points:

I’ve always found Act Two of Wicked to be very flawed, contrived and rushed with less memorable music and shallow narrative depth. Characters emotions turn on a dime, certain relationships are never full resolved, members of the ensemble get cast aside, and my hope was that the film adaptation would rectify this with its longer run time and attention to character and emotional weight. Wicked: For Good is ultimately a faithful adaptation of the second part of the musical. It maintains a lot of the flaws (particularly Boq), but it does salvage a few key moments (particularly the timely anti-fascist propaganda elements) and that is thanks to its continued emotionally rich characterisation of its central leads Elphaba and Glinda, played perfectly by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The film shines when it focuses on them, and thankfully it does for most of its runtime, complete with a new song for each of them that I found really sturdy additions to the songbook. The costumes and sets continue to be lavish, and the films cinematic elements are impressive with more action and visual effects driven sequences. However there’s less impressive theatrical moments with fewer ensemble scenes compared to the first (although No Good Deed is a feat that serves well as the films midpoint). And thankfully, the titular “For Good” sequence absolutely lands - with its emotional weight earned thanks to the phenomenal performances accompanying it that build upon the foundations of the first. And ultimately what is good about Wicked: For Good is owed to what was established well in Part One. As an emotionally darker story that’s more grounded and intimate, the film delivers, and musically it’s still impressive, even if it can’t fully defy other weights that hold it down from fully flying - leaving a film that isn’t quite perfect, but still very good.